Ku Klux Klan

United States Sen. Sherrod Brown is requesting federal funds to help Dayton recover some of the city's costs associated with security for the May 25 Klan rally. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, Brown wrote the city spent more than $650,000 to ensure the safety and security of people and property during, "the potentially volatile event.”

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says that while the city did not ask Brown to make the request, she's thankful for the help.

Dayton activists have organized a number of events this Saturday for residents planning to stay away from Courthouse Square during a planned rally by an Indiana-based KKK-group.

The Dayton Unit NAACP is sponsoring two events in response to the rally. On Saturday, the group is holding what it calls a "family-friendly community celebration of love, peace, unity, and diversity" at McIntosh Park in Dayton. The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin didn't expect such narrow margins in Tuesday's primary. He managed to win the Republican Party nomination with 52 percent of the vote, to face Attorney General Andy Beshear in November. The victory lays the groundwork for a bitter gubernatorial battle. Beshear has filed several lawsuits against the Bevin Administration. Now the two will spar on the campaign trail.

Activists have released details of a plan to counterprotest an Indiana-based Ku Klux Klan group’s rally set for Dayton later this month.

At a forum Thursday at Mt. Enon Missionary Baptist Church, members of the Better Dayton Coalition and the Dayton Police Department urged potential demonstrators to maintain their safety and consider staying home. Dayton Public Schools officials are also asking young people to steer clear of downtown Dayton during the May 25 Honorable Sacred Knights rally.

The city of Dayton has filed a lawsuit against an out-of-state group that plans to hold a rally on Dayton’s Courthouse Square in May. City officials say the Honorable Sacred Knights is a paramilitary group and the rally they are planning is in violation of Ohio’s constitution.

Last month, Montgomery County, which oversees Courthouse Square, granted the Indiana group believed to be affiliated with the KKK permission to rally on May 25th.

A Dayton coalition planning a counterprotest at an upcoming Ku Klux Klan-affiliated rally, scheduled for late May in Courthouse Square, gathered Saturday at a townhall meeting to outline their plans.

The A Better Dayton Coalition includes members of Black Lives Matter Miami Valley, and six other grassroots and faith-based community organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the New Black Panther Party.